Las Vegas Weekly

September 22, 2008 · 2:10 PM

Strip Scribbles: Celeb sightings, tonight’s tips

By Robin Leach

*Sad to report the bust-up of a long-time business partnership between two highly prominent Vegas personalities. Out of respect to them I won’t give out names but am pleased to say they’ve agreed to remain friends, although no longer partners. The decision was made when one of them brought in a new chief financial officer who decided to shake up some of the business situations.

*Planet Hollywood and Vegas were all over last night’s TV screens.

First there was the one-hour “Private Sessions” interview with country-rock goddess Sheryl Crow after her recent Performing Arts Theater show there. Lynn Hoffman conducted the interview, which revealed that before she wound up a nine-time, Grammy Award-winning musician she sang backup for Michael Jackson and wrote jingles for McDonald's!

Photo: Courtesy A&E

Sheryl Crow on "Private Sessions."

The episode was filmed in one of the resort's new supersuites and included footage of her hits “Everyday is a Winding Road” and "Can’t Cry Anymore" that she’d performed on stage there. Upcoming 60-minute "sessions" focus on Sarah McLachlan and Squeeze. The cast of Planet Hollywood’s “Stomp Out Loud" appeared with Motley Crue rock drummer Tommy Lee on Planet Green TV’s Battleground Earth environmental show with rapper-actor Ludacris.

*Tennis superstar Andre Agassi is on the phone personally giving an extra boost to ticket sales for his October Grand Slam charity fundraiser at the Wynn Las Vegas. In these tough economic times all charity organizations are finding it “tougher going” and Andre decided he could still serve up a winner by making the personal phone pitches. Please support his foundation because he does such remarkable work in this community.

*Husband and wife performers Clint Holmes and Kelly Clinton were picked to sing “Who Will Stand” and “If Not Now, When” prior to Barack Obama’s rally at Cashman Field -- and after the presidential nominee’s speech he asked to meet them both backstage.

Photo: KirvanDoak Communications

Clint Holmes, Kelly Clinton and Barack Obama, shown at an Obama rally at Cashman Field in September.

Star Surveillance:

Andre Agassi treated his wife, Steffi Graff, to the Seal concert out at the Green Valley Ranch where Michael Jackson’s brother, Tito, was also spotted in the crowd ... Reality TV star Khloe Kardashian was spotted shopping the Palazzo stores with her mom, Kris, and they also hit both the new Lavo restaurant for dinner and the mod-Mex Dos Caminos for a taco lunch the next day! ... Talk-show host and super model Tyra Banks was at the Caesars Palace Colosseum to watch Cher’s concert and wound up greeting former View and Court TV host Star Jones. Tyra was here filming for an upcoming Vegas episode of her hit daytime The Tyra Banks Show ... The entire cast of Big Brother partied at Tao nightclub in the Venetian at the owner's table just a few tables away from retired boxing champion Floyd Mayweather, who partied with his XO and Patron Platinum. British pop group Take That rolled in at 1 a.m. and happily shared its Perrier Jouet Fleur champagne bottles with the female frenzied fans who mobbed them ... the topless Fantasy revue beauties at the Luxor escorted actor Joe Pesci for his night on the town at the LAX disco there, where he ordered up the expensive Cristal champagne!

*My vivacious friend, Molly Sullivan, is competing with 14 other beauties in this year’s Vegas Prom Queen contest. You can log on to www.vegasprom.com, click on the voting area and then scroll down to vote for this year's prom queen. Only seven days left to vote so do it twice daily and give Molly the extra winning push!

*Chef Geno Bernardo at George Maloof’s NOVE restaurant in his Palms Fantasy Tower has begun a two-week Tuscan tasting menu. It features five authentic courses but you can order them individually if he and his grandmom have selected too much to eat! I sampled the fresh grilled squid and all I can say is, "Mamma Mia" this is fantastico!

Tonight's tip:

King of Crunk Lil Jon returns to Prive inside the Planet Hollywood resort casino as guest DJ to fire off the midnight explosion of greenbacks, ranging from $1 bills to $100 bills, at the Money for Nothing Monday party ... My pal, celebrity chef Martin Yan from the hit PBS TV series Yan Can Cook will give a cooking demo and serve up the taste treats from eight traditional Chinese cooking styles when he unveils the plans for his new 9 Dragons restaurant to be opened at Tivoli Village at Queensridge. The teams behind the other new restaurants there, the Tres Agaves tequila lounge and the Townsend winebar from San Francisco will also unveil their restaurant attractions in the sneak preview before next year’s openings ... the 10-week KidsMarathon training program begins today in preparation for the youngsters' participation in the Dec. 6, third-annual Las Vegas KidsMarathon. The kids, 6 to 12 years of age, will accumulate a total of 25 miles over the 10 weeks. To avoid confusion, the big-people’s Marathon will be run next day, Dec. 7, with yours truly returning to the starter line for 6 a.m. commentary! … Shannon Kelly, who won the Vegas Blondeshell award, will celebrate her birthday at Jet nightclub in the Mirage ... Rahn Ramey flopped at his dismal career choice of law so he turned to acting and comedy and wound up on HBO’s Comedy Central and the "Escape from New York” movie. He opens a week’s run of twice-nightly shows tonight at the Riviera Comedy Club with fellow comics Jodi Weiner and Vinnie Mark ... call it shear-genius and hair-raising when an all-out Beauty Battle has scissors drawn as stylists from Kelly Cardenas’ salon create sexy creations atop the heads of five gorgeous models at Tabu in MGM. Partygoers will help vote and any lady who wants a cut while there gets treated to one!

Tomorrow's tease

Siegfried & Roy set the date for their "magical comeback" and get ready to leave for London, where they will be given a Royal Tribute, and the Vegas artist who could have had half of a $200-million merchandising fortune from the Rolling Stones for creating the famous screaming lips and tongue logo has become a double-victim! Luxe Life also takes a sneak peek in the brrrrrrrr very cold Minus 5 ice-playpen before its Thursday opening this week but we heat up with the sizzling Fantasy topless beauties from the Luxor at their calendar unveiling party. On Wednesday, our exclusive interview with Donny Osmond just 24 hours before he and Marie celebrate their gala premiere reuniting on the Strip after a 29-year break.

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